


Vicious Circle

by Fjeril



Series: Fjeril EnStars Ficember [1]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Inspired by Real Events, Overworking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 08:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16889151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fjeril/pseuds/Fjeril
Summary: Mao's life is a vicious circle, and this time it has consequences.





	Vicious Circle

**Author's Note:**

> "Inspired by real events" as in inspired by something that actually happened to me a few months ago.  
> This is my first work for Ficember and I know I started late and won't be regular at all on it, but let's be honest, I just discovered I liked challenging myself with prompts with Fictober.  
> The themes were either "Trickstar" or "Fav Character", so I chose my fav character from Trickstar. Have fun!

Sometimes, Mao felt like his head would explode. He thought of himself as well surrounded, maybe just a little _too_ well, actually. Not that he disliked it; as he often said himself, he needed to be busy all the time.

And busy he was. The student coucil sometimes stole his hours away from Trickstar's practice, where apparently Anzu covered for him so often she knew their lyrics and dances better than him. Thus, he stayed longer at school, staying in the studio they rented after everyone was home so he could make up for the hours he spent in the council instead. Sometimes, it stole his hours at the basketball club, which was supposed to help him relax and bond a little more with the other members. He was the only one surprised when Takamine had become way more enthusiastic and way better out of nowhere.

Now, they sometimes got so fueled up the club ended way later than their practice hours, much to Takamine's discomfort at first. That stole the hours he sometimes promised Ritsu, when he forgot to watch the time and only came back to his senses from sensing the glare coming from the entrance of the gymnasium.

His life, though, even with its broken rhythmic, felt in order. He had fun, he had a lot of friends, and still managed to have good grades even when pulling all-nighters to check live requests. His family seemed proud enough of him, even if more focused on his sister's well-being (he couldn't blame them, especially when he heard stories of young girls being sexually harassed in the subway and worried it'd happen to her). The only one being slightly annoyed with the life he had decided to lead was the one that _knew_ he asked too much.

Ritsu often insisted for him to stay for the night, and for some reason it _always_ was the days he was the busiest. Mao never allowed himself to fall for it, no matter how seducing Ritsu's queen size bed was. He didn't have the time to sleep, even less in a bed so comfortable he wouldn't be able to wake up the next morning.

That day, though, Ritsu insisted more than usual, and his usually either sleepy, creepy or annoyed face was showing a new emotion the young man had never been able to express correctly. Mao was pretty sure he _knew_ what it was, even though the word refused to come to his mind. It wasn't annoyance, nor a childish pout. It wasn't his spoiled child face, or that lazy smile that sometimes made him feel like his heart missed a beat for some reason. Deciding he'd find out later, Isara Mao went home so he could work on the paper he had to give back on the next week until the deepest hours of the night.

The answer came to him in the morning, after he opened his eyes and the world kept falling towards his right side, resetting every second before it fell again. Mao tried to sit on his bed, but it became worse, and the world seemed to be falling faster. Thus, he lied back and shut his eyes as tightly as he could, just so the feeling would disappear, or at least slow down.

It didn't. Not before two long hours, and even that way, the vertigos didn't stop.

Ritsu's face had been expressing _worry_. And now he was seeing it again, falling again and again, behind his childhood friend's locks. It was hard to see clearly, for it fell with the world towards his right side every two seconds, but he was sure about it. And the more he thought about it, the faster his vertigos were.

"Now it's my turn to take care of you, Maa."

Ritsu's voice seemed way too amused to be comforting. Yet, Mao couldn't allow himself to refuse being cared for, and that no matter how much he feared his childhood friend's ways of taking care of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ♥ Have a wonderful day!


End file.
